Projectiles hurled at an elderly gentleman tending to plants and flowers in his greenhouse.

Teens aged 11 and 14 robbed by the group. When one of the boys made a police statement, his mother’s car windscreen was smashed in retribution.

An OAP with a heart condition was taunted and threatened, before her garden fence panels were torn down and yobs ran amok in the back garden.

Another pensioner foiled an attempted robbery in her own home.

A derelict caravan set alight in an arson attack, with flames torching a greenhouse and affecting neighbours’ homes.

Mr Burgess said: “As the dust settles, the full extent of the fire damage is being assessed.

“Five residents’ perimeter fences have been destroyed. One resident has lost all of her child's toys, including his trampoline and garden slide.

“One elderly gentleman, who is in ill-health, has lost a quarter of his garden as well as his fence.

“Somebody has to be held accountable for this devastating attack.”

Merseyside Police said it strives to deal with anti-social behaviour “when and where it arises”.

Chief Inspector Zoe Thornton from the Sefton command team, said: “In recent weeks we have started to receive complaints from residents in Leybourne Avenue and we have made addressing this a priority for all our neighbourhood officers.

“An officer has visited the parents of several young people we believe may have been involved in some of the incidents and given verbal warnings to them in front of their parents.

“He has also visited some of the residents and assured them that we will continue to make use of any evidence that comes in and take appropriate action.

“The fire at the allotment, which damaged a resident's garden fence, is being treated as an arson and will be thoroughly investigated.

“Crimes such as robbery – in which we have had only one reported to us since April – and assault will not be tolerated and we will continue to do all we can to arrest the people responsible.

"I would encourage residents to always report incidents to the police, no matter how small or large, and attend neighbourhood meetings so that we know what the most pressing issues are for people and can explain what we can do to help."

The volunteers are now compiling a petition to present to John Pugh MP to raise awareness of the issues they face.